This invention relates generally to fabric pin tables used in the garment industry, and more particularly concerns fabric pin table which has pins connected to a pin holder beneath the table and which pins are retractable below and extendable above the working surface of the pin table.
In the production of garments, a number of garments are cut from a single pattern by first spreading a number of layers of fabric onto a cutting table. Once the fabric has been spread on the cutting table, a pattern for the garment is laid over the layers of fabric, and the pieces of the garment are cut from all the layers simultaneously by means of an electric knife. In order to produce a garment from either striped or plaid material, the cut pieces must be matched or aligned on a common stripe prior to cutting. Conventionally this is done in the garment industry on a cutting table by sticking a pin into the wooden surface of the table. The fabric is then spread by operators and manually aligned on the pins by pulling the material over the top of the pin.
Another conventional way of pinning garments on a cutting table is to have a pinning bar that is a flat metal plate with pins threaded into the plate at predetermined spacings. The bar is then clamped to the table top, and the fabric is pulled over the pins and anchored. After pinning is completed, however, the pins must be removed before the paper pattern is placed over the material, and the pieces are cut using an electric knife.
Both systems for pinning have several disadvantages. First, in order to accommodate the full thickness of a number of layers of fabric, the pins extend well above the top of the table, and pulling the fabric over the tops of the pins may stretch the fabric. Second, before cutting, the pins must be removed, and in some cases the material must be floated pneumatically to another table before cutting. Removal of pins prior to cutting results in the material shifting and in poor quality. Third, the insertion of the pins into the table top damages the table top which damage may then snag the fabric being cut.
Recently, pinning tables have been provided with a wide slot or slots extending the full length of the pinning table. Within the slots are mounted moveable supports with pins attached thereto. Once the layers of fabric have been properly positioned and pinned, the movable support is lowered removing the pins from the fabric and leaving the slot exposed. The fabric is then floated to another table where it is cut according to the pattern. Again, the removal of the pins and the floating of the fabric inevitably results in shifting and poor quality.